Jason Falls & JoAnne Funch
Social Media Rock Stars Conference
Earlier this week I had the privilege to hear Jason Falls, at a one day conference called “Social Media Rock Stars.” Jason is the founder and as he likes to refer to himself, “Chief Instigator” of Social media Explorer a strategic services agency and an information products company. His keynote was powerful and hysterically funny. I know you will find value in the following tips I learned from Jason that you can implement into your strategy now!
Think Strategically About Social Media
Jason shared his four steps to marketing that is critical to a strategic plan versus one where you throw social media against a wall and hope something sticks.
1.) You need to gather the critical insight about your target consumer such as demographics and psychographics so you know everything there is to understanding your buyer
2.) Know the behavior of your community such as the social sites they frequent – this critical information will tell you exactly where to be placing your social media posts
3.) Brand Intelligence – meaning know your own brand and your position in the market
4.) Lastly, once you are clear on who your target consumer is, what social platforms they frequent and how to communicate your own brand message, you will then be prepared to choose your own social tools to communicate to your audience.
Know What Social Media Marketing Can Do For You
…and what do you want social media to do for you? So often when I work training clients, they have NEVER asked this question! It’s so important not to jump onto the social media band wagon without being clear on what your goals for using these tools are. Jason Falls shared six areas where social media plays a role;
- Enhance your brand awareness
- Protect your reputation (SEO ranking)
- Build your community
- Enhance customer service
- Facilitate research & development
- Drives Sales & leads
Social media is a great way to build a community of advocates – those people who talk about you and your brand enthusiastically or even sometimes negatively. Negative feedback should be an opportunity to communicate your customer service and willingness to listen and make things right with a consumers. There are some companies that shine in great customer service such at Southwest Airlines, Domino’s Pizza and many, many others who embrace social media to do all the six things mentioned above.
Customer Service Is Not Just For Big Brands
If you are a local business you should be proactive on Yelp, Urban Spoon , Foursquare, Google Places
This is where people are talking about you, which gives you a chance monitor conversation and to engage! After all, you want people sharing how much they love you – right?
Market Research is Everywhere
If you are engaged with your followers you have the opportunity to ask your audience anything and what a better way to gain free market research! How often to you poll your current email list asking them what else they’d like to see from you? Or how often when you post on social sites do you specifically ask for feedback? Let your advocates know you care about them by asking for feedback – it’s a true win/win.
Set Social Media Goals For Success
As a consumer ourselves we know that rule of know, like, trust – right? Don’t all of us want to do business with people we know, like and trust? Jason broke this down to:
– Content – be informative & helpful to your followers
– Service – provide rock star customer service by listening & responding
– Be Consistent – Show up and show up consistently engaging with your community
Measuring The Results
So what do we measure when it comes to social media to determine our success? Well, it all boils down to:
1.) How many leads have we generated
2.) How many sales have we had
Other measurements are generally intangible but benefit us in other ways besides money. Things like engagement on our social sites; shares, likes, comments.
So, in social media marketing always ask yourself the three most important questions
1.) What can social media do?
2.) What do I want it to do?
3.) How will we measure success?
So what can social media do for you? Would love to have you share your thoughts by leaving a comment below!
Want to learn more about Jason Falls and Social Media Explorer, go to: http://www.socialmediaexplorer.com
Loved this article JoAnne. Thanks so much for all the detail it was great.
thanks Michele. Jason Falls is such a great social media influencer that I wanted to share what I learned from him at this conference!!